It's very confusing when you first join. The most important thing you can do is read, read and read some more. It does get easier. Corrina777 gave you some good suggestion. You can also read the stickies at the top of some of the forums and/or invest in the e-book on the livecurlylivefree website. A lot of information in one place. I never used products until I started lurking on nc.com--but I'm a fast learner, LOL!

While my hair is fine/low porosity, I live outside Philly--so understand your weather fairly well. You may want to look for a poster named redcelticcurls (rcc.) She lives in Pittsburgh and has hair properties that are a little closer, though not identical, to yours. You're probably between the two of us, LOL!